64 Worst: People Who Can’t Drive in the Rain vs. Pink’s Hot Dogs

What makes living in L.A. more unbearable, People Who Can’t Drive in the Rain or Pink’s Hot Dogs?

I understand that roads become slick when water comes down from the sky. I understand that hydroplaning is dangerous. But let’s be real, People Who Can’t Drive in the Rain: LA hardly experiences monsoon rains and hurricane winds.

The genus People Who Can’t Drive in the Rain has two species: The Slowpoke and the Speed Racer. The Slowpoke will decelerate to 15 mph, even in the carpool or #1 lane. The speed racer, in a desire to fill the velocity vacuum left by the first species, will accelerate to 90 mph.

When these species literally collide on the freeway, traffic is backed up more than usual and normal drivers like you and me would be better off canceling appointments and staying home. Fuck you very much, People Who Can’t Drive in the Rain.

On the other hand, we have Pink’s Hot Dogs. Admittedly, Pink’s is a legendary icon in this fair town, naming their signature dogs after films and celebrities (Hell, even Golden Californian Huell Howser has a hot dog. But a Rosie O’Donnell dog? You gotta be kidding me). However, Pink’s is more of a sacred cow, dodging any criticisms by hiding behind an autographed head shot. Think: are the hot dogs really that good? What about the hour-long lines? Are the tourists, Melrose hipsters, and Food Channel quasi-foodies who can’t properly place an order really tolerable? As long as you’re breaking your diet, you might as well go across town and visit Tommy’s.

24 Replies to “64 Worst: People Who Can’t Drive in the Rain vs. Pink’s Hot Dogs”

Voting was easy on this. I can’t control the bad drivers in the rain and put me and my family at risk for an accident. Pink’s or similar retail establishment if I don’t like it I can make a decision to avoid and no harm to my wallet or tummy.

I almost waited in line for Pink’s before deciding that it was too surreal waiting in that sort of line for a hot dog. I have no intention of ever trying that again. Since Pink’s is localized to one place, and I don’t ever have to deal with them, ever, I must vote for people who can’t drive in the rain – those I do have to deal with from time to time.

Ugh PWCDitR are so much worse. When it rains, nothing should change except that people should take longer braking distances into account. But the slowpokes who freak out at skidding across [won’t happen: @40MPH you won’t skid anywhere] empty freeways [won’t happen, this is LA] totally ruin everything. Normal traffic can’t work because people are slowing to a crawl. It also can’t work because morons are diving in and out [usually driving ’88 Civics] making for billions of near misses.

Has Pinks ever hurt anyone? Hell no. In fact, if you don’t like their dogs, just don’t go.

In fact, even if you think they’re overrated, there is no denying the outstanding civic spirit and community goodwill that the Pink family has demonstrated for years, volunteering staff to give away free dogs at numerous functions. Really, the people who’d vote for this as a worst thing about LA are the embodiment of the worst of LA. Or they just really hate hot dogs.

While L.A. natives are often snobbish about how transplants are a pain in the ass, lifelong Angelenos are absolute morons when it comes to dealing with any sort of inclement weather and driving. This is exemplified by people who cant drive in the rain. God forbid we ever get a snow storm.

I’d love to see a real snowstorm sometime. It would be hillarious, not the couple of inches like we got in Canoga Park in 88, but real snow over your ankles. That would be a treat to sit on the side and just watch. (This from the guy that grew up in the rust belt where snow was on the ground from Halloween until Easter and the lakes thawed in time for fishing season to open Mid-May).

I hated driving in ice and snow and the Northeast and was never very good at it. It does boggle the mind though as to how awful the drivers get here with a little rain.

And, obviously I’m in the minority, but I like Pink’s and wouldn’t even put this up in a “worst of…” contest. I love people watching and standing in that line has never ceased to provide all kinds of free entertainment.

Yes. How many people has Pink’s food condemned to long, long night of intestinal discomfort?

And as a lifelong native, I could drive a rocket powered tricycle on rims through a blizzard at 90, no problem. I’ve driven in the rain in dozens of cities and LA drivers aren’t really that much worse than folks in any other urban area.

… For what it’s worth, i like pink’s. pink’s was just nominated and i decided to try to find things to hate about it. i found a few things… but yeah, when i lived in hollywood, i never waited in line either. mushroom swiss dog!

Pshh. Markland, as a born and raised Southern Californian, I take some offense to your allegation. I haven’t been in an accident in nearly 10 years (and past accidents weren’t my fault), so rain? Pshh. I can drive in rain. Floridians, though? They can’t seem to drive, period.

I went to Pink’s early on after I moved to LA. My friend who took me told me it wasn’t going to be very good but that it was some sort of quintessential LA experience. We waited on line for too long, considering it was for a hot dog.

So I ordered one with something gross-looking glopped on top of it and some greasy fries, ate it and got a stomach ache. I can’t imagine ever doing it again or imploring visitors to do it. I don’t mind hype if it surrounds a good product, but come on.

What is it about regional bad food? There are other cities that have this sort of thing that gets inflated into undeservedly mythic proportions. Considering how much great food can be eaten in LA, at all price levels, the Pink’s phenonema mystifies me. Does sentimentality trump all?

As for driving in rain, I must admit I smirked when I read the DMV manual about the roads being slick the first few minutes after it started raining due to the build-up of oil on the roads. Then I had a scary experience when I braked quickly in such a situation. It was like sliding on a sheet of ice. It was much scarier than Pink’s.

Rain drivers. Man…I used to got to Pink’s right when they opened to get a chili cheese dog or 3 while I did my laundry. Strange, I used to eat at Pink’s more often when I lived in Pomona. Once I moved down the street from it, I couldn’t handle the lines. It’s so not worth the lines. But this shouldn’t have been about Pink’s, it should have been more about the clueless dolts in the line. Or the people that go there on freakin’ tour buses.

But people in LA really suck at driving in the rain. It has nothing to do with if you’re from here or not. It has everything to do with the type of car you drive and how often you choose to be a moron and talk on your mobile, drinking coffee while it’s raining for the first time in months.

Touristy stuff is always annoying, but next time we have visitors in town, we’ll all be dragging them to one touristy thing or another. I wouldn’t go to Pink’s just for a regular day’s lunch (even if I didn’t care about getting something healthy), but I enjoy taking people from out of town there. I don’t know that they are that amazing as you’re eating them, but there’s a weird craving for them the day after. :)

I’m not a native Angeleno, but chili dogs are a lot more native to L.A. than people think. SoCal gave the world McDonald’s and all of those places with roller skating carhops. It was all part of the car culture and a different kind of Americana. So, don’t hate on your heritage! :)

The drivers in the rain have no excuse, though. We do have a rainy season, there’s plenty of time to practice. :)